How do you say goodbye to another? "Goodbye?" "Hasta manana?" "Until we meet again? Or "See ya?" Maybe the Apostle Paul has another option to embrace.

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.
- 2 Timothy 4:22 TNIV

These are the very last words of Paul in his letter known as 2 Timothy. Yet, it's so much more than a "See ya." It's a way of saying, "I pray for you," without saying it; but actually praying for the persons! It's a blessing.

We are a people who understand the power of a curse, where someone speaks ill of us or attacks us maliciously. Sticks and stones may hurt, but so do words. That's curse. But Paul closes 2 Timothy with a blessing. There's power in blessing others--it's our faith in action, in words that make a difference. What if we learned a new way of saying goodbye? What if instead of a hollow, "See ya," or even "goodbye," we left one another with a blessing? I close today: "The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all."